The Whitecourt Trailblazers gave a tour of their groomed snowmobile trails during their annual VIP and Media Ride on Jan. 24.

Local media and VIP attended the tour, including regional and provincial politicians. Ricardo Miranda, Alberta minister of culture and tourism, described the ride as "fantastic."

"Every time I (go) to the community, I find these really awesome things that people are doing that they are passionate about and that's what people are really looking for," Miranda said.

He added that these kinds of attractions make telling people about the province a lot easier for him.

"People are obviously living their passion and making it something that is a really amazing cultural experience, sport experience and overall quality of life," Miranda said. "I'm very proud of all the work that's been done and it's very encouraging to see, especially for tourism."

Whitecourt Mayor Maryann Chichak, who also attended, explained that having Minister Miranda take a tour of the trails allows him to look at Whitecourt in a different light in terms of tourism.

"The trails are a little rough," she said. "In spite of that, I'm really happy that the Trailblazers went ahead with the ride. I think it was really important having the Minister of Tourism here today."

Trailblazers president Dan Guenette explained that the VIP and Media Ride last year had to be cancelled due to a lack of snow but that the club was able to pull it off this year.

"The trails are in pretty good shape considering the low snow here that we face so far," he said. "Things are looking up and definitely a little better start this season."

Guenette added that he hopes for more snow so the club can host its upcoming Family Rally on Family Day weekend and the Golden Triangle Ride from March 3 to 4.

The Whitecourt Trailblazers currently have 50 members who maintain 480 kilometres worth of snowmobile trails.

According to the Alberta Snowmobile Association, $387.8 million is spent on snowmobiling every year in the province. Alberta snowmobiling also creates 6,574 full-time jobs and $142 million in tax revenue from all three levels of Canadian government.